APSYC 3: Final Class Presentations
Congratulations to the members of our third Psychology cohort! Each student completed their final presentations in class last night, reaching the end of their 2-year program here at Trinity.
Their presentations (part of the final course in the program) were centered on the student’s field experience or research practicum. Each student had the opportunity to choose to do either a field experience at an off-site location or a detailed research practicum where they picked a topic, developed a hypothesis, and defended their hypothesis through research, surveys, and data compilation. Of the six students in the cohort, four choose the field experience and two choose the research practicum. 
(Left to right: Dr. Tiffany King, Jose Barrera, Melinda Bachman, Eboni Armour, Tameka Bobb, Cassandra Frison & Joy Elizabeth)
Eboni Armour:
Eboni chose to do her field experience at By the Hands Club for Kids, a non-profit Christian agency that serves the children in the Englewood, Austin, and Altgeld communities. In her time there, Eboni worked with the high school age students, participating in field trips to the beach, Buckingham Fountain, and a trolley ride, and assisted with the pickup/drop off service offered to the students. “By the Hands is really involved with the students and committed to teaching them and getting them involved in the community,” Eboni explained. “They provide dinner to some students, who may not have dinner at home, and one-on-one help with homework.”
Jose Barrera:
Jose chose to do his field experience at two locations. The first was Roseland Christian Ministries, which serves the Roseland community by providing food and shelter to those in need. Jose assisted with Roseland’s Thrift Store, which is crucial to the Ministry as it provides the funds that help the other programs they offer. Additionally, Jose choose Pacific Garden, a homeless shelter that was founded in 1877. Pacific Garden provides two breakfasts, two lunches, and two dinners a day to hundreds of people. Jose spent his time in the kitchen helping to prepare the meals. “It was tough to see so many people struggling with the basic needs of life such as food and shelter” explained Jose. “But also encouraging to see there was always enough food in the kitchen to prepare since they are dependent on donations. Both organizations are doing important work for their communities.”
Tameka Bobb:
Tameka chose to do her field experience at two locations. The first was Bridge Teen Center, which provides a place for teens to spend their afternoons. In her role there, Tameka helped to organize, promote, and setup/cleanup the events offered. The second location she choose was PASS, an organization whose purpose is to reduce the desire for abortion in the South Suburbs through intervention and prevention. PASS provides free services, such as an incentive based point system where the women compiled points by attending various classes and then used the points to purchase items at their store. “I really enjoyed the time at PASS and am still continuing there,” explained Tameka. “I was able to teach a Job Readiness Class they offered and enjoyed the experience of being able to share some tips that can help them going forward.”
Cassandra Frison:
Cassandra also chose to do her field experience at By the Hands Club for Kids, but in a different area than Ebony. Cassandra worked with other volunteers at the program to develop and plan out the programs offered at the club. She was also able to join Ebony on a few field trips. “Spending time at By the Hands sparked the need to volunteer and its importance,” explained Cassandra. “It made me look to see how we can give back, and ask what part I can play to help others because we are so blessed.”
Melinda Bachman:
Melinda chose to do her research practicum on secondhand smoke exposure and the relationship between parental smoking and children’s respiratory health. Melinda hypothesized that smoking does increase a wide-range of respiratory health issues, using detailed data from a literature review and online survey results to defend her hypothesis.
Joy Elizabeth:
Joy chose to do her research practicum on how Evangelical Christianity affects female sexuality, hypothesizing that females have inequality beliefs towards sex and are less likely to experiment in certain types of sexual pleasures. Using both the qualitative and quantitative approach to her research, Joy compiled support for her hypothesis from historical data and results from one-on-one interviews with participants from varying backgrounds.
Congratulations again to each student and all their wonderful achievements accomplished as students at Trinity!